Phoenix Return With Bankrupt!

There's not much news to report yet, but suffice it to say that we are jump-out-of-your-chair excited about the return of Phoenix. After being off the radar for the better part of the last year or two, the band has update their web-site with a flashing logo and a hypnotic synth line. Both point to the release of the band's new record, apparently entitled Bankrupt!, which is scheduled to drop in April. That's all the news we have for now, but suffice it to say, we are very, very, excited.

Damon Albarn To Deliver Dr. Dee

We're happy to admit that we tend to go apeshit for anything Damon Albarn produces.  After a quick listen to the video preview (above), his latest project Dr. Dee has us particularly excited.  Based on the life of John Dee, an advisor to Elizabeth the First, Dr. Dee is a stage production that will see its debut in London come June.  In the meantime, the record will drop May 8th, and supposedly features "Albarn's voice with early English choral and instrumentation alongside modern, West African and Renaissance sounds".  Make of that what you will, but if it sounds as good as "The Marvelous Dream", which is featured in the preview, then it's sure to be one of our favorites of the year.  So. Stoked.

GROOMS Played Death By Audio - Pictures, Review

On Saturday night, Brooklyn natives GROOMS stopped in at Death By Audio to play a release show for their latest record, Prom. The show (as is often the case), started far later than scheduled. That didn't dissuade the fans, however, and when the band came on around midnight, the room was well populated by an excited and enthusiastic crowd.

For the show (we're not sure about the long term), the band had acquired a fourth member to assist with keyboard and guitar parts, but for the most part, the core three-piece contingent reigned supreme, and stayed true to the band's on-record sound. The band were technically on-point, and the drums in particular offered up an even more dynamic element than they do on tape.

Playing only one track from their first record, Rejoicer, the band then delved into an all out exploration of Prom before closing the show with a new track. The new material was solid, and the new track was possibly our favorite of the night. While the band was in top form in terms of technique, the sound system was (sadly) not quite up to the challenge. It's no secret that GROOMS can offer up some challenging levels of discord in their work, and unfortunately, the muddiness of the sound made some of that which is artfully intentional end up sounding off key, or just plain wrong.

Nonetheless, our enthusiasm for GROOMS was not abated. The band is technically adept and instrumentally bulletproof. Moreover, they are creating challenging music that is full of difficult twists and turns that even the most well versed ear needs some time to sort out. Rome wasn't built in a day, and likewise, GROOMS are laying the sonic foundation for what we believe is some of the most exciting musical exploration going on out there today.

More pictures in the HAD Archive

New Steven Malkmus On Tap For August With Beck On Production Duties, Fall Tour Scheduled

Okay, color us asleep at the wheel: that album cover you see above is from the forthcoming Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks record, which was announced by Matador about three weeks ago. Entitled Mirror Traffic, the disc apparently took 2.5 years to record, during which Malkmus & Co. worked on the record with none other than producer Beck Hansen in his Los Angeles studio. Yes, we're as excited as you are, which is to say: uncontrollably.

So far we've heard only one track from the record, "Senator", which you can snag below. Lyrically, it's pure classic Malkmus: full of twists and turns, with tongue firmly in-cheek. Sonically, it occupies the space that Malkmus has been steadily refining with the Jicks over the past 10 years, soundly delivering a driving rock and roll vibe, while at the same time milking the looseness of the jam for all it's worth. To say we're enjoying it would not really do it justice. It is tasty and lovely and good.

In addition to the record, the band has also just announced tour dates for the fall, many of which go on sale this week. All the dates are below, and we have to say, there are some pretty large venues on the list. It seems that perhaps last year's Pavement reunion may have drummed up more than a little enthusiasm for Malkmusites everywhere. Case in point: the New York date is at Terminal 5. While we'd love to see the band in a smaller room, you can bet there's no way we're missing this one.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Fall 2011 Tour Dates
9/20 – Detroit, MI, Majestic Theater – onsale 6/17
9/21 – Toronto, ON, Phoenix Concert Theatre – onsale 6/17
9/22 – Ottowa, ON, Ritual – onsale TBA
9/23 – Montreal, QC, Corona Theatre – onsale 6/17
9/24 – Boston, MA, Royale – onsale 6/17
9/26 – New York, NY, Terminal 5 – onsale 6/17
9/28 – Philadelphia, PA , Theatre of Living Arts – onsale 6/17
9/29 – Baltimore, MD, Ram’s Head Live – onsale 6/16
9/30 – Charlottesville, VA, Jefferson Theater – onsale TBA
10/2 – Atlanta, GA, Variety Playhouse – onsale 6/17
10/4 – Nashville, TN, Mercy Lounge – onsale 6/17
10/5 – Indianapolis, IN, Earth House – onsale TBA
10/6 – Chicago, IL, Vic Theatre – onsale 6/25
10/7 – Milwaukee WI, Turner Hall – onsale 6/17
10/8 – Minneapolis, MN, Pantages Theatre – onsale 6/24
10/11- Seattle, WA, Neptune Theatre – onsale 6/24
10/12 – Vancouver, BC, The Biltmore Cabaret – onsale 6/25
10/13 – Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom – onsale TBA
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA, The Music Box – onsale 6/18
10/20 – Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up Tavern – onsale TBA

mp3: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Senator

LCD Soundsystem To Release In-Studio Live Band Performance

LCD Soundsystem at the Treasure Island Festival, from the HAD Archive

You may recall that we were drooling over LCD Soundsystem's live show when we caught them at Treasure Island Festival last month. Given that, we were super excited when news came over the wire this morning that the very same live band holed up in a London studio back in June, and recorded a live show in the room. Entitled The London Sessions, the record features tracks across LCD's career. On a more bummer note, it's also "rumored" to be the band's last record. We certainly hope not.

Regardless, we were hugely impressed by the life that the live band brought to the recorded material, and we couldn't be more excited to hear what made it on to the tape (or disc, whatever, calm down). If it's anything close to the show we saw in October, this one's gonna be a doozy!

mp3: LCD Soundsystem - All I Want

Broken Social Scene and The Sea & Cake Join Forces For Split 7"

Well, count us in as excited. It was cool enough that The Sea & Cake's John McEntire produced Broken Social Scene's latest, Forgiveness Rock Record, and then the two bands subsequently toured together. This week the pair outdid themselves again, and announced a split 7" that's set to drop next Tuesday. The single contains an unreleased track from each band: "Curse Your Fail" from BSS, and "Skies" from The Sea & Cake. While you could wait and snag it at your local record shop, if you just can't wait it's available at Gallery AC right now!

New Belle & Sebastian Streaming On NPR, Video Doc

We've only gotten the chance to listen to it once through, so we're going to keep our opinions at bay for the moment. Nonetheless, we thought you might like to know: NPR is streaming the new Belle & Sebastian record, Write About Love.

Given that the band is set to headline Treasure Island Festival in two weeks, this is the perfect time to get familiar! As an added bonus, the band has also created a nice little HD vid to accompany the record's release, that we highly recommend watching. Check it all out below...

Stream: Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love

Land Of Talk Drops Tracks, Tour Dates, Commentary For New Record

We've been digging on Land Of Talk for quite some time, so when news came around that they had a new record on tap, we waited with bated breath to get a listen to Cloak And Cipher. Luckily for us, the wait wasn't very long, and the band dropped the cover art (above) and started posting a few tastes of the record for free download online.

The first free track, "Swift Coin", does a masterful job of combining the blazing guitars of the band's first EP with the killer melodies of their full length Some Lakes. The last minute of the song is one of the fiercest moments of guitaring that we've heard in quite a while. The second, "Quarry Hymns", is slightly more subtle, relying more heavily on Lizzie Powell's vocals. It does so to great success, and the simple rolling lilt of the instrumentals serves as the ideal backdrop to her cracklingly lovely pipes.

But wait - theres's more! In the wake of the record leaking, Powell sat down with the folks at The Ampersand, let them stream the entire record, and gave her thoughts on each track. We'll be completely frank with you: the two tracks mentioned above are only the tip of the iceberg. This is the best record we've heard from the band yet, and reading Powell's insights on the tracks only makes it better.

We wouldn't think our Land Of Talk love could get much bigger, but then we realized we're going to get to see all these songs live! The band is mounting a North American tour for the fall, and they'll be stopping just about anywhere that your heart might desire. We'll say this: we've told you we love the band live before, but with this new batch of songs, we're thinking it may be a whole new ballgame. You'll be kicking yourself if you miss out.

Land Of Talk Fall 2010 Dates

Sep 16 Lee's Palace Toronto, ON, ., CANADA

Sep 19 Beachland Tavern CLEVELAND, OH
Sep 21 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
Sep 22 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN
Sep 23 Slowdown Front Room Omaha, NE
Sep 25 LARIMER LOUNGE Denver, CO
Sep 26 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 29 Starlite Room Edmonton, AB, ., CANADA
Sep 30 Dicken's Pub Calgary, AB, ., CANADA
Oct 2 Lucky Bar Victoria, BC, ., CANADA
Oct 3 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC, ., CANADA
Oct 4 Crocodile Seattle, WA
Oct 5 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
Oct 7 Independent San Francisco, CA
Oct 8 Culture Collide Festival - Echo Plex Los Angeles, CA
Oct 9 Detroit Bar Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 10 Casbah San Diego, CA
Oct 12 The Rhythm Room Phoenix, AZ
Oct 15 The Parish Austin, TX
Oct 16 The Nightmare Dallas, TX
Nov 2 Space Gallery Portland, ME
Nov 3 TT The Bear's Boston, MA
Nov 5 Johnny Brendas Philadelphia, PA
Nov 6 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Nov 7 The Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, DC
Nov 9 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 10 The Earl Atlanta, GA
Nov 11 The End Nashville, TN
Nov 18 Cabaret du Mile End Montreal, Quebec, CANADA

mp3: Land Of Talk - Swift Coin

mp3: Land Of Talk - Quarry Hymns

stream: Land Of Talk - Cloak And Cipher

JBM and Sondre Lerche Played Mercury Lounge: Pictures, Review

Last night we stopped in at Mercury Lounge to catch fantastic sets from two fiercely divergent songwriters, and to celebrate a record release to boot. The first, Sondre Lerche, delivered his customary playful, endearing, and rocking set. In contrast, Jesse Marchant (as JBM) delivered a set that leveraged his own unique musicality over a variety of genres and sounds.

Sondre Lerche took to the stage just after 9:30, and broke into the set with a new song on a tuned down acoustic guitar. After wrestling with the tuning for a bit, Lerche delivered "Red Flags", which took a slightly darker take on his earlier material, while at the same time holding on firmly to his innate sense of melody.

Over the next hour, Lerche's set traversed most of his career, although it tended to focus more on his newer material. Of particular note were a jumpy, staccato, electric version of "Dead Passengers" that ended up with Lerche jamming himself into a frenzy of guitar explosiveness. Another new song made it's way out at the end of the set. Entitled "Domino", it also used the down-tuned acoustic, and was similarly dark in delivery.

His set was accented by the arrival of two musical guests, the violinist "K", and a duet with Dawn on the always-lovely "Modern Nature". While not strictly necessary, the guests (along with a variety of guitars and a high energy level) served to bring some variety to Lerche's set, and keep him from falling too far down the black hole of "guy with a guitar" blandness. To the contrary, he delivered a set that was dynamic, jovial, and almost impossibly lovable.

Soon after, Jesse Marchant (JBM) took to the stage for a set that would also last about an hour. In contrast to Lerche's set, which was unified in its sound and delivery, Marchant delivered a set that ran the gamut between quiet and loud, stoic and rocking, solo and with band. The stark contrast between songs served Marchant, as it called attention not only to his versatility, but his ability to completely embrace each of the genres completely.

The material (as might be expected) was sourced largely (entirely?) from his debut record Not Even In July, for which last night was the record release party. However, much like the record, the tracks varied in their arrangement and instrumentation. For part of the set, Marchant was joined on stage by openers Diamond Doves as his backing band, and for others he took a solo seat to his songs. Moreover, even his solo act varied, sometimes finding him behind a makeshift drumkit, sometimes with a harmonica and guitar, and sometimes behind the keyboard.

If all of this variations seems like a bit much to believe, you feel about the same way we did witnessing it. Even more remarkable was that Marchant pulled off his many roles with ease, and topped it off with a voice that was one of the best we've heard live in a very long time. With an innate ease of delivery, Marchant's vocals rode on top of the instrumentation like an effortless wave of melody. To hear it is to believe it, we say.

Last night was JBM's record release, and he should be more than a little excited: not only has Jesse Marchant created a killer record, but he also has proven that he can deliver a live performance that surpasses the quality of his recorded material by a long shot.

More photos at the HAD Archive

Deerhunter Previews Halcyon Digest With Leaks To Street Team And Homemade Video

First, we'll start with this: Deerhunter has a new record on tap for the fall, and it's entitled Halcyon Digest. Yes, agreed. This is very, very, good news. But it gets better. You see, the band has decided on something of a fan-driven marketing campaign for the record, and as such has enlisted their street team to start pushing the album in exchange for a taste of the goods in advance.

Lucky for you, dear reader, the internet knows know bounds, and so the result of this endeavor has been the leak of two (so far) tracks via this fan-centric marketing system. Both tracks were obtained via the Halcyon Digest website (password: "tapereel"), and were originally intended as a bonus to said street team.

The first, entitled "Revival", is what could be (at least post-Microcastle) as straight ahead Deerhunter: Spector-esque drums, loads of reverb, and Bradford Cox's double tracked vocals all contribute to make this little ditty quite sweet on the ears. The second, entitled "Radio Play", is much more of an ambient noise piece, and blows by in an instant.

Finally, the band has also posted a video in support of the record (above). While it's clear the band in the video is not Deerhunter, we're having trouble discerning if the audio track is a rough mix of the song, or just a band that's pretty damn good at aping their vibe. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Either way, with the record still 2 months away, things are just getting started, and from the looks of it, this is going to be fun!

Halcyon Digest is out September 28th via 4AD

mp3: Deerhunter - Revival

mp3: Deerhunter - Radio Play

photos: Deerhunter in the HAD Archive

Jeff Tweedy Produces New Record From Mavis Staples

Picture by Spencer Tweedy, hoisted from his excellent blog

Leave it to Jeff Tweedy to take all of his rock and roll cred and retroactively apply it to a fantastic vocalist that trumps him in experience by more than a few decades. Put differently: Tweedy has just produced a record, entitled You Are Not Alone, for R&B legend Mavis Staples.

After reading this fantastic interview over at Pitchfork, we're more than a little excited about the record. Not only was it recorded in Wilco's loft with the Wilco gang present and accounted for, but it contains new compositions from Tweedy as well. In short, it should be a very, very, fun record - and sound great to boot!

While we have yet to hear any material from the album, we will say this: we're waiting with bated breath. Tweedy and Co. have been producing some great material as of late, but in some ways have drifted a bit from Wilco's country roots. It'll be great to hear Tweedy at work with an artist who's truly a part of the foundation of American music.

Broken Social Scene Augment Full Length With EP

The new full length from Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record, is set for imminent release on May 4th, and this week began streaming online. On top of that, the band has a spring tour mapped out in support of the album. However, not to be outdone by their own hype, the band has kicked it up a notch further: This morning the band announced an EP that is set to accompany their latest release.

Entitled Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights, the ten track record will be comprised of songs culled from the SOMA studios "B-Room" during the recording of Forgiveness Rock Record. Apparently (according to band member Charles Spearin), the B-Room provided a facility for musical catharsis and creation during the recording sessions. In a press release from the band, he had this to say:

"I know that some bands write their songs, rehearse them and then record them. Not Broken Social Scene. In recording Forgiveness Rock Record we did it our usual way: swimming in chaos and making it up as we go along. We started by loosely sketching out 30 songs in my garage, driving to Chicago, recording 20 of those, and then writing 20 more. The point was to never stop working. Whenever we got exhausted or overwhelmed we would take a breath, pick up our instruments and jam purely ‘for spirit purposes’. It was musical-therapy of sorts. Part of what kept the ideas flowing was Soma’s smaller, second studio where we could test out new ideas and experiment with overdubs. While John worked in the main room, this B-Room quickly became our musical kitchen where we cooked up soups of sound without the pressures time and money.

One evening, as a kind of exercise in spontaneity, Kevin, Brendan and I each took turns writing and recording minute-long “songs” with minimal overdubs just to see what would happen. We kept saying to John “we’re making you an EP!” It was a sort of first-thought-best-thought approach to music making. Within a few hours we had six lovely little soundscapes, one of which ended up being the closing song on Forgiveness Rock Record, ‘Me & My Hand’, and the rest became the beginnings of Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights.

As we continued to work on Forgiveness the B-room became more and more important as both a musical and social outlet - there are a lot of us in Broken Social Scene and it’s hard for us to sit on our hands – so naturally Ohad, Sam and Sebastian each recorded a song in the same spontaneous way. ‘Song For Dee’, the only traditional “song” on Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights, Brendan, Kevin and I recorded when we found out that our good friend Wayne’s dog died and we wanted to cheer him up.

All of the songs on Lo-Fi For The Dividing Nights were recorded in Soma’s B-Room while Forgiveness Rock Record was being made. What these songs have in common is that they were all written in a spirit of playfulness and fearlessness where we could throw our discrimination to the wind and let the judges and critics take the night off. This tiny B-Room sanctuary fomented a very positive frame of mind, ultimately leading to one of the most enjoyable album-making experiences we’ve ever had. We hope you enjoy listening to these songs as much as we enjoyed recording them. "

Needless to say, we're pretty damned excited to hear the news that we'll be getting what essentially an entire bonus Broken Social Scene record this spring. That being said, the EP is apparently a limited time offering associated with the inital release of the record, so pay attention if you want to get your hands on a physical copy.

In other news, the Broken Social Scene family will be appearing on Letterman tomorrow night to perform "Forced To Love". Yes, we'll be watching.

Forgiveness Rock Record drops on May 4th.

mp3: Broken Social Scene - Forced To Love

Grand Lake's Blood Sea Dream Out On Hippies Are Dead Records, May 2010

So, you know how last night we dropped the ultra exciting news of HAD starting a record label? Well, it gets better. People don't start record labels for no reason, and in this case we had very, very, good reason: Grand Lake has signed on with HAD to release their first full length, and it's a doozy.

Blood Sea Dream is set to drop next month, and was produced and recorded by the band along with Maus Haus' Jason Kick. It's a fantastic record, filled with all the things that we love about Grand Lake: texture, melody, experimentation, and fantastic songwriting.

So, you ask, why do I have to wait until May? Well, you don't! Lucky for you, we've decided to stream the record in full over at the band's web site. What more, we're offering up a video (above) and mp3 (below) of "Louise (I Live In A Fantasy)" that we think you'll dig quite a bit.

In short, we're very excited about this record, and we're even more excited that it's the first release on Hippies Are Dead Records. Now, let the fun begin!

mp3: Grand Lake - Louise (I Live In A Fantasy)

stream: Grand Lake - Blood Sea Dream

Julian Casablancas: Phrazes For The Young

With Phrazes For The Young, Julian Casablancas not only joins the cadre of Strokes who have released solo records, but also brings the band within one member of having all released solo albums, which is quite a feat unto itself. The band that was hailed as the great white hope of rock and roll in the fall of 2001 is clearly searching for itself, both as individuals and as a collective, and the great outpouring of solo work is no doubt a considerable part of the puzzle. With a studio album in an undecided state, three years since their last record, and (supposedly) a member in rehab, it really gets you wondering how much longer there will be an entity known as "The Strokes". Luckily for Julian Casablancas, that may prove to be irrelevant.

Let's start at the beginning: Much like the other Strokes' solo records, there are fingerprints of the band all over Phrazes For The Young. In this case, however, they're even more notable. Primarily due to Casablancas' distinctive voice, but also relating to composition, this record sounds unquestionably more like a Strokes record than any of the other band members' solo output. Casablancas has cited Young as his opportunity to try things he couldn't try in The Strokes, be a control freak and not worry about it, and try and popularize underground music. The rub is that in many ways he was already doing those things in The Strokes, so the distance from a Strokes record to this one is not as far as one might expect.

That being said, it would be a mistake to categorize this as more of the same. Casablancas unquestionably takes some sonic and compositional risks on the record, and for the most part it works. The record's lead-off single, "11th Dimension", is unquestionably (and logically) its most accessible moment. It's joined by "Out Of The Blue" and "Left & Right Of The Dark" as one of the three most straight-ahead rock songs on the record. The rest of the track list is far more riddled with challenging composition: "4 Chords Of The Apocalypse" is driven by something of a gospel dirge. "Ludlow St." is an oddly miserable take on country music. "River Of Brakelights" is rock through a Timbaland filter. The record's two closing tracks "Glass" and "Tourist" find Casablancas artfully fleshing out his skill at balladry. All that in only eight tracks - indeed.

So, if you're looking for the short answer: it's a great record. But there's far more there under the surface, and more than a fair bit of imbalance. After giving the record repeated listens, it remains undeniably clear that Casablancas may have been trying to do too much. It's more than a little ironic that in grabbing full control of the creative process, Casablancas has in many ways made his most disjointed record to date. There have been hints of this in the past with tracks like "Under Control" and "Ask Me Anything", but this is the first time that Casablancas' penchant for stylistic non sequiturs has been completely exposed.

There isn't a weak moment amongst the eight tracks here, but there is a distance between them. In many ways the record feels like it was made of two EP's: one an exercise in experimental low tempo songwriting, and the other a flat out rock and roll record. One could (and many will) that these tracks come together, and that the distance between them is in fact what gives them balance. But the fact of the matter is that they are simply too far apart to hold together as an album. Will this matter to Casablancas' fans? Not in the least. But when considering the record and whether it lives on as a classic, the lack of unity will be counted against it.

Without a doubt, those trying to escape the shadow of a great band are hounded by the spectre of their bandmates. Most notably, The Beatles worked their entire solo careers to escape their own greatness, and never succeeded. However, most of this lack of success was not a result of their own lack of talent: it was a result of self indulgence. Without the counterweight of the other members, each was free to wallow away in a world of musical masturbation. Unquestionably, this yielded some fantastic records, but few would argue that there's any solo material on par with the band's original output.

Similarly, The Strokes have spent the last three years battling to find themselves in the world of solo recording: Albert Hammond with sunny pop, Fabrizio Moretti with subdued latin melodies, Nikolai Fraiture with a straight ahead rock record, and now Julian Casablancas with a synth laden rock and roll experiment. But the fact of the matter is that these four (and a still silent fifth) are part of a greater whole. They each have the ability to deliver on their own, and probably do so better than most. But still, none of them have managed to capture the magic that they do as a unit. In other words, you'd better believe that next Strokes record is going to matter. In the meantime, we'll be listening to Phrazes For The Young, and you'd better believe we'll be enjoying the hell out of it.

Julian Casablancas 2009 North American Tour Dates
Nov 13 Downtown Palace Theatre Los Angeles, California
Nov 17 The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, California
Nov 20 Downtown Palace Theatre Los Angeles, California
Nov 22 Showbox at the Market Seattle, Washington
Nov 23 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia
Nov 27 Downtown Palace Theatre Los Angeles, California

mp3: Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

Spoon's Next Full Length, Transference Drops In January

Spoon at The Fillmore, from the HAD Archive

Well, we waited patiently for almost two years, got tided over by an EP, and now here's the real deal:  Spoon's next full length, Transference, is set to drop on January 26th of the new year.  Given HAD's penchant for being shamelessly addicted to Spoon, you won't be surprised to learn that we're shit-out-of-our-minds-psyched to hear this news.  Anything from Spoon is a treat in our book, but if this record builds on the awesomeness of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, well, then it's set to be nothing short of a masterpiece.  Interestingly, the record closes out with "Got Nuffin" - we're curious to see if it'll be the same recording as on the EP.  Regardless: Can. Not. Wait.

Spoon - Transference, Track Listing
01 - Before Destruction
02 - Is Love Forever?
03 - The Mystery Zone
04 - Who Makes Your Money
05 - Written In Reverse
06 - I Saw The Light
07 - Trouble Comes Running
08 - Goodnight Laura
09 - Out Go The Lights
10 - Got Nuffin
11 - Nobody Gets Me But You


mp3: Spoon - Written In Reverse (Live At The Fillmore)

Spoon Drop September Bonus, Announce "Deluxe Digital" Releases

Spoon @ The Fillmore, from the HAD Archive

Well, if you've been paying even a little bit of attention around here, you know that we're a tad Spoon-obsessed around these parts. As such, we're always on the lookout for the band to drop their semi-monthly bonus track, and one's just come up! This month's track is a demo for the Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga track "Rhythm And Sould", and it's a pretty dead-ahead version. Significantly less produced than the album version, but by and large the same feel. Have a listen below.

In other news, the band (who are currently in the studio) have announced the availability of their first four records as "deluxe digital" releases. While what this means is still a little unclear, it appears to be a download of the records directly from the band's website in high resolution formats. The site is also promising previously unavailable material, but that's about as far as they go. Looks like we'll have to wait and see.

mp3: Spoon - Rhythm And Soul (demo)

BLK JKS Played SOB's For Their Record Release - Pictures, Review

Last night we stopped in at SOB's and caught up with South Africa's BLK JKS: the band was on hand to kick off a North American tour and celebrate the release of their first full length record, After Robots. Given the increased production and instrumentation over their debut EP, we were curious how the new material would play out in the live environment. Well, the answer, to put is succinctly, was this: very well.

Before BLK JKS hit the stage, we caught the one-man-show of HIGHLIFE. Wahs Salguod's act consisted of singing, playing guitar, and playing pump organ over a prerecorded/sampled set of backing tracks. While the one-man setup had the effect of reducing stage presence a bit, we certainly still found ourselves digging the set. While we think he could benefit from dragging a band into the mix, we definitely are going to brush up on his recorder output.

From there, we were psyched to get on to the main event. We had caught BLK JKS in San Francisco back in May, and were blown away by the performance. Last night's show had the added advantage of us having heard the band's full length, allowing for a much greater familiarity with the material. Given that some of the band's output can be a tad challenging, familiarity goes a long way in getting into their live show.

Still, even without being versed in the band's output, there's more than a little to appreciate. BLK JKS are simply such a well honed unit, that their performance is a technical wonder to behold. They ebb and flow on the brink of chaos and dischord, while managing to never stumble over the cliff into the abyss. Each of the players is unquestionably adept, but the combination of the four is the real "secret sauce".

What they then do from there is even more remarkable: the band creates a sonic palette that manages to draw upon every genre and context imaginable, and in the process creates something utterly unique. Whether it be Lindani Buthelezi's searing guitars and smooth vocals, Tshepang Ramoba's frenetic drums and sound effects, or simply the entire band's ability to lock into a solid funky groove, it all provided an unparalleled live experience. Go. See it. Now.

mp3: BLK JKS - Molalatladi

BLK JKS Fall 2009 Tour Dates
09/18 Urbana, IL The Canopy Club—Pygmalion Festival
09/19 Madison, WI The Stage Door—Forward Music Festival
09/20 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
09/21 Chicago, IL The Hideout
09/22 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room
09/24 Minneapolis, MN Global Roots Festival
09/26 Bloomington, IN Lotus Festival
09/29 Washington, D.C. Black Cat

New Music: Rad Cloud

In our book, San Francisco based Rad Cloud already have a few winning cards up their sleeve: They managed to get Grand Lake guitarist Jameson Swagnon on board for their debut LP, and what's more, said LP (which is self-titled) is being released on vinyl, which looks and sounds fantastic.

The band is officially a duo made up of Bob Thayer and Sarah Ashton, but Swagnon was on board for recording, and will be playing with the band at their record release this Saturday (July 25th) at the Makeout Room. The gig (which is early, 7:30 - 9:30) should be quite a coming out for the band, who in our book have constructed quite a unique sound.

Existing comfortably somewhere between Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, and The Violent Femmes, the band manages to be at once accessible, mellow, rocking, and innovative. The record itself also sounds fantastic, and will be released digitally as well as on the above-mentioned vinyl.

While you're mulling over all this new information and prepping for the show on Saturday, snag a taste of the band's latest below - we're pretty sure you'll dig.

mp3: Rad Cloud - Flowers On Willie Brown Street
mp3: Rad Cloud - Blue